Stupid Mutant Seed Stitch Bastard

I've been working on the Burridge Lake Afghan for some friends of ours who are getting married this summer. If there are two people in this world that I can think of who I would bear knitting an entire afghan for, it is these two. They are so perfectly matched, so comfortably in tune with each other, that I have no doubt that they will make each other happy for a very long time, and that makes me more than thrilled to knit each and every stitch of this blanket for them.

That being said...

The entire time I have been knitting this thing, ripping back cables that are less than perfect, making sure each and every stitch is the stitch it is "supposed to be"...I have been thinking, "What a stupid fucking transition [between the cables]. Why is this thing some mutant seed stitch rib pattern? Why not just a rib?"

I asked Jason about it, "Do you think this transition looks stupid?"

"No," he said, "It looks great."

Well, after some ravelry browsing, I noticed that a few people have cast on with me this January. And of the pictures I can see clearly, I am but one person who interpreted the stitches as the mutant seed stitch and not a rib. That makes me feel better. As a person, I mean.

As far as this afghan goes?

Well, I will be ripping it out and starting over.

Norwegian Star Earflap Hat

Pattern: Tiennie's Norwegian Star Earflap Hat
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Pink and White
Needles: size 7 Addi Turbos

Mods: I did a mockup with some old Cascade 220, knitting the earflaps first then casting on for the hat, and I thought the brim would curl - even the way tiennie wrote the pattern. For one thing, I'm not so great with the backwards loop. It looks easy enough, but I was getting an uneven, curly brim. My solution?

I used this cable cast on that I learned from Romi when I started Muir, and crocheted two sets of 21 stitches each. Then, I cast on for the brim, knitting the crocheted stitches (instead of picking up the earflaps) as I came to them. There were some holes, and I might have still benefited from the backward loop cast on...oh well. I used the yarn ends from the flaps to weave those holes shut.

I knit a 2x2 rib brim, because I like the look of a 2x2 brim on a hat, and it had already worked really well when I knit this hat up for my sister. I followed the rest of the pattern as it was written, although I wish I had made the top of my hat taller, and had knit less rows between the brim and the pattern - the yarn I used on my sister's hat was a little bit thicker, and it made for a taller, albeit slightly tighter hat. Also, I loved one mod I saw on ravelry with some added stripes. I may just be using that idea when I knit this hat for Jason.

After I pulled the yarn through the crown and finished the hat portion of the hat, I unzipped the crocheted yarn at the brim, and started knitting the earflaps. I have to say that although the other way seems just fine, this way makes more sense to me, since after I've decreased down to 3 stitches, it's so much easier to just keep on going with the i-cord.

I finished this hat yesterday just as we got to Revere Beach. I thought it was warm enough to leave the hat (whose ends were still hanging all about since I had forgotten scissors), but I had to put it on when we got back to the car, because I think the cold had come in through my ears and frozen my brain. Thank goodness I have it now for the blizzard. It's such a warm hat.